Anthropogenic modification of a giant ground sloth tooth from Brazil supported by a multi-disciplinary approach.

Autor: Pansani TR; Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. rabitopansanit@si.edu.; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil. rabitopansanit@si.edu.; Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, PPSM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France. rabitopansanit@si.edu., Bertrand L; Université Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, PPSM, Gif-sur-Yvette, France., Pobiner B; Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA., Behrensmeyer AK; Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA., Asevedo L; Laboratório de Ecologia e Geociências, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Vitória da Conquista, BA, Brazil., Thoury M; Institut photonique d'analyse non-destructive européen des matériaux anciens, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, ministère de la Culture, UVSQ, MNHN, Saint-Aubin, France., Araújo-Júnior HI; Departamento de Estratigrafia e Paleontologia, Faculdade de Geologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil., Schöder S; Synchrotron Soleil, Gif-sur-Yvette, France., King A; Synchrotron Soleil, Gif-sur-Yvette, France., Pacheco MLAF; Laboratório de Paleobiologia e Astrobiologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Sorocaba, SP, Brasil., Dantas MAT; Laboratório de Ecologia e Geociências, Instituto Multidisciplinar em Saúde, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Vitória da Conquista, BA, Brazil.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Scientific reports [Sci Rep] 2024 Sep 03; Vol. 14 (1), pp. 19770. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Sep 03.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69145-5
Abstrakt: Identifying evidence of human modification of extinct animal remains, such as Pleistocene megafauna, is challenging due to the similarity of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic taphonomic features observed under optical microscopy. Here, we re-investigate a Late Pleistocene ground sloth tooth from northeast Brazil, previously suggested as human-modified based only on optical observation. To characterize the macro- and micro-morphological characteristics of the marks preserved in this tooth and evaluate potential human modification, we used stereomicroscope and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) supplemented by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV photoluminescence (UV/PL), synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence (SR-XRF), and synchrotron micro-computed tomography (SR-µCT). These methods allowed us to discriminate non-anthropogenic taphonomic features (root and sedimentary damage), anthropogenic marks, and histological features. The latter shows the infiltration of exogenous elements into the dentine from the sediments. Our evidence demonstrates the sequence of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic taphonomic modification of this tooth and supports its initial intentional modification by humans. We highlight the benefits of emerging imaging and spectral imaging techniques to investigate and diagnose human modification in fossil and archaeological records and propose that human modification of tooth tissues should be further considered when studying possibly anthropogenically altered fossil remains.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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